CHOOSING A SITE We have known this little urban park for many years and were always intrigued by its multilayeredness and beauty. It is situated on the corner of Exhibition and Collins streets at the “Paris End” of Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD). The park features unrendered brick buildings, trees, and provides its users generous bench areas, bins, water and light during night time. Depending on the time of day a diverse array of visitors occupy the park including business people, shoppers, some homeless ramblers, elderly who wish to take a break, people passing through the short cut it provides, late-night bar goers prolonging going home etc. During the night a couple of homeless people sleep on the benches but disappear in the morning. There are also teenagers who meet each other there, especially on the weekends, due to its proximity to cinemas, restaurants and bars. Considering all these different aspects the park brings this corner of Collins Street alive, and is obviously appealing to a large cross-section of urban users.
Urban Park, Exhibition Street 29